Every day we hear of encounters between humans and dogs. Unfortunately, not all of these encounters are pleasant. In fact, some can be deadly. I think that it is time for me to reach out and help to make these encounters as pleasant as they can be.  By “me,” I mean “my humans,” and by “my humans,” I mean “mom.”

Mom’s rolling out a new program called C.O.P.E..  C.O.P.E. is Canine Outreach Project & Education.  The program is designed to educate humans to better read canine communications.  It is geared toward Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs and elementary schools or any interested organization.

If you would like to schedule a C.O.P.E. program for your group, call us at 404-323-1500 or shoot me an email at spike@askapikeonline.com. The program is free of charge.

A friend of Mom’s called today for some advice. She acquired an eight month old male dog for Christmas. Lately, he has been showing some disturbing behaviors, as it was explained to Mom. It seems that on their walks, he goes up to an object, licks it and his teeth begin to chatter, followed by some foaming around his mouth.

Mom’s friend was convinced that somehow her dog had gotten into some poison. But this was not the case at all!

Us dogs have a Vomeronasal Organ, also called “Jacobson’s Organ”. It is located at the base of the nasal cavity. We are not the only creatures to possess this organ. Snakes, turtles, elephants and many other species also have the Jacobson’s organ. In fact, you have one, too! Unfortunately for humans, the functionality of the organ goes kaput during early development.  Oh, hamburgers, are you guys missing out!!

The organ’s primary function is to detect pheromones that carry information between individuals of the same species. It is kind of like a “sixth sense”. Or remember back when people read newspapers? Well, it’s like that, only slightly more sophisticated.

A girl dog may be out for a walk and decide to leave her “calling card” (also known as urine). This card is “read” by a boy dog. He begins by intently smelling the area and then tonguing, which means that the tongue is rapidly and repeatedly pushed up against the roof of his mouth. It is kind of like he is taking the odors off of the tongue and forcing them into the olfactory receptors. The “messages” are then sent to the hypothalamus. This is where he contemplates his sexual or social behaviors. (This is how us dogs are able to distinguish and recognize other animals and people.) During the tonguing process, many may have profuse foaming of the mouth and a chattering of the teeth may occur.

In a dog, sniffing is not the same as breathing. We sniff through a series of rapid, short inhalations and exhalations. You may notice us sniffing before the tonguing begins. Some of us dogs will sniff the air. Tax does this a lot (he’s really into smells). He holds his head back and sniffs while he moves his head back and forth. He is simply trying to locate the source of something he finds interesting. He is depending on scent particles roaming through the air getting caught on his wet nose. He can then determine the location of where the particles came from. Sometimes he begins foaming at the mouth and his teeth chatter. If you didn’t know better, you would swear that he was freezing to death!

So, don’t get so excited if you dog shows this kind of behavior. Also, do not discourage your dog from sniffing and smelling while he is on a walk. He’s gathering important information!

Lately, I’m getting a lot of questions about crying pups, possible depression, and what their families can do to help their pups.  The symptoms described are usually the same.  I hear things like, “He cries when I put him in the crate,” “She is always following me around, seeking constant attention,”  ”He seems miserable when I leave,” and/or “She is so destructive when I leave her alone.”

Us dogs have several good reasons for doing this. The first and most common reason is we like attention.  When you comfort us after we signal our dismay, that tells us that not only will our behavior be tolerated, but you REWARD us for it.  This is an awful idea.  When you give us attention, it is oh-so-enjoyable….  We feel it’s our duty to keep you happy, and we know you’re happy when you’re returning the love.

Our attention-seeking behavior is not much different from how Mom describes human babies.  Apparently, they exhibit something similar.  They cry in their cribs, car seats, pak-n-plays, their rooms, the line at the grocery store, and anywhere else they feel like it, waiting for someone to come along, pick them up, and give them some attention.  When people do this for little humans, it reinforces their bad habit of crying.  We’re not much different.

Also, it’s important to know about your dog’s life before he or she came to live with you.  My human sister rescued Bitsy, a neglected Pomeranian, from a HORRIBLE living situation.  Before her rescue, she’d been left alone in a very small room for days at a time.  Alone.  For days.  After her adoption, the first six weeks were miserable, and they lost many hours of sleep to Bitsy’s constant crying.  Because of her past, she was a lonely dog, even though she had two new sisters, but she was also afraid her new human parents would not return, a product of her history of abandonment.  The only thing that built her confidence was when someone came back.  After some intense snuggle therapy during regular interactions (NOT as a reaction to the crying), and her parents always returning to see her, she’s a healthy and happy pup, living it up!

Lastly, you should consider their age and the likelihood of deteriorating joint health.  When we talked about what to expect from a westie, we discussed their inclination for pelvic joint problems.  Be on the lookout for limping, particularly in the colder months.  Your pet’s cries may actually be a signal to you about pain they experience.  If you’ve determined this is something affecting your pet, it may be a good idea to add a Glucosamine or Chondroitin supplement or to switch to a food which contains it, after consulting with your vet.  If you’re feeling those aches and pains, maybe you should talk to YOUR doctor about supplements too.

If your dog is ACTUALLY depressed, he or she will exhibit some physical symptoms of depression, which should accompany his crying.  Watch for signs of under or over-eating, general lethargy, excessive sleeping, unexplained weight gain or loss and sometimes irritability (yes, sometimes we get grumpy).  Noticing something listed here is an excellent indicator that it might be a good time to schedule an appointment with your vet to discuss your recent discoveries.  In the meantime, playful exercise and daytime walks, that aren’t about getting busyness done,  are good for curbing your pet’s depression.  Interactive toys, that give him or her a chance to spend quality time with the family, can also be helpful.

Unless your dog is showing signs of being sick or hurt, it’s best to ignore unfounded crying.  It will be hard to do at first, but every time you give into his crying, it reinforces the crying behavior, and later on, it could result in some possessive aggression.

It can be very scary when a dog acts differently toward one person or a group of people over others, especially when that dog acts aggressively.  Have you encountered something like this?

A three year old spayed German Shepherd acts aggressively toward a particular man. She acts perfectly fine with everyone else but she does not like or trust him.  His erratic actions hinder their relationship, as sometimes he is calm with her and others “he yells and swats.”  If he is laying on the bed, she will lay by him and ask for attention, but as soon as he gets up, she tenses.  She is a “one person dog,” though she tolerates petting from others.  She has never snapped at or bitten anyone, other than this man.  Her body language when she shows aggression include a wagging tail, low rear and upright ears.  The biggest problem is that the man described is also the owner’s husband.

First, let’s address the body language she displays.  Contrary to popular belief, a wagging tail is not always a friendly sign.  Her lowered rear end, probably a crouching position, is an indication of her fear.  The erect ears shows that she is “on alert.”  When you couple that with the barking, charging, and crouching, you have a dog that is trying to figure out a human, the husband.  What happens?  Is it a snarling, vicious bark?  I doubt that he needs to defend himself from an attacking dog, since they are both still in the house.  To me, this sounds like an attention bark, since it probably gets her attention.  Even though it may be corrective or negative, she gets attention.

The real problem here is the human factor.  If you want this man to be safe, then HE better be ready to make some changes.  The husband is not PART of the problem, he IS the problem.  When she is lying next to him and they both are calm, the dog feels safe.  However, when he gets up, the dog responds by tensing up, as if she expects him to strike her.  She certainly shows signs of fear around him.  What I worry about here is how fast that fear can turn into aggression.  Unfortunately, in a situation like this, when she does bite, she will be likely be put to sleep, when there are things HE can do to rectify the situation.

Dogs do not like to be yelled at anymore than humans do.  They certainly do not like to be “swatted” either.  The unpredictability of her relationship with the husband ruins it.  Some dogs may take this for their whole life, while some dogs may snap one day inflicting a bite that may cost them their life.

Remember, adult dogs have 42 teeth in our mouths.  These teeth serve a purpose, biting down hard, holding the meat and pulling it away from the bone.  Why would a human think they can take that on?  The average German Shepherd bite unleashes a force of 238 pounds of pressure.  They make great police dogs, because not many people can withstand or overcome that bite to get away.  Only an idiot would try to intimidate that!

For this situation to continue incident-free, the husband needs to learn some canine communication skills.  First, it is never acceptable to strike a dog.  If you do, you deserve to be bitten!  As for the yelling, most dogs have a very keen sense of hearing.  Sometimes, my Mom will whisper commands to me.  I think she is just testing my hearing.  This dog is confused.  She wants to understand what she does that causes the yelling and swatting.  Since most of of do not use reason or logic, it is the person that must make the change.

He needs to know that the dog does not understand his actions and barks and charges out of frustration, as if she is asking him, “Why do you yell and swat at me?  It frightens me and I really just want to be loved.”  He MUST change his ways if you want him to be safe around her.  Once she knows to expect a calm demeanor from him, you can work on building a stronger relationship between the two of them.

Recently, a reader asked, in the comments to this article, about some potty training issues she struggles with.

We got a dog. He is about a year and a half. He has been with us for about 2 months now and he has adapted well. When we got him, he was potty trained. He was doing fine at first, going outside and not in the house. Then, after a while, it started fading away. Now, he will go outside to pee, but he waits until he gets in the house to go poop. What do we do? We have tried a lot of stuff like letting him stay outside all day but he just waits until he comes in to go to the bathroom. We have also tried a spanking but, he just does it again. I’m pulling my hair out because I don’t know how to make him go outside, instead of inside. Can you please help me?

Photo courtesy of Pat Thomas of Photo Phetish

This story is a very common one.  Many people tell you that their dog is a potty trained angel, as they try to give him away.  In fact, a lot of people classify their dog as “potty trained,” but if he pees on the floor, or he poops on the floor…  Guess what?  He IS NOT potty trained!  Potty training is a very black and white issue.  Either a dog IS or IS NOT potty trained.  There is no middle ground or room for qualifiers.

If your expectation is that your dog will consistently wait twelve hours inside before “getting busy,” you should reconsider your situation with your schedule, your dog, or your expectations.  If he cannot hold it that long every day, it is not his fault when he goes in the house before you let him out.  If your schedule does not allow you to be home for your pup more often than that, consider getting a professional dog walker or pet sitter to visit your house during your work day.

Specifically for this commenter, I suggest that you revisit the basics of potty training, for both your sake and your dog’s.  Also, examine your potty routine with your dog by asking yourself these questions:

• Do you have an established potty spot?  If not, establish one and take your dog out to that same spot every time.  Dogs like consistency and routine.
• Are you immediately praising each successful outside #1 and #2?  If not, carry some treats in your pocket on your walks and totally overreact positively when your dog does something you want.
• Are you walking your dog on a leash?  Naturally, you will need a leash to control that he stays in his potty spot until he does his business.  Give him up to 15 minutes to do his business.  Since this is not a walk (for fun and exercise), do not walk around.  You have taken your dog to his potty spot for him to get down to business.
• Are you confining him to his crate, if he does not “get busy” outside?  If he is not successful outside, take him back in the house and put him in his crate or confine him to a small room.  Dogs do not generally like to soil the area they sleep in, and most potty training dogs spend their nights in a confined area or crate.  After five or ten minutes, take him back outside for another opportunity, going out the same door, to the same spot, and give him a command to potty.  Mom uses “get busy” to pee and “big busy” for poop.

If he continues having accidents in the house, he has lost his privilege to roam the house freely.  Remember Potty Training Rule #1: If you cannot physically keep your eye on the dog while he is in the house, he must be put in his confined area.  He must also wear a leash so that when you catch him soiling, you can say NO very sternly and take him immediately outside to his potty spot.  You must catch him in the act of soiling or you cannot correct it.  It is also important to note that you should never allow your dog to see you clean up his mess.  Speaking of cleaning, use Simple Solution, or something like it, to completely eliminate the odor from his past indiscretions in the house.

As with all training, you must be consistent with this until you have successfully eliminated accidents inside.

Recently, I got an e-mail from a concerned pet parent about some interestingly-named pups.  Bae-Bae and Blue are a new addition and almost an angel, respectively, so we are going to focus on Cartman and Butters.  Cartman is still very much an immature puppy. Though he seems to be potty-trained when out of the crate, but he will poop and pee in it, sometimes plopping down right in it.  Though he is going outside for potty breaks more frequently, he is not “getting busy” during  the extra trips outside.  Butters is a little older, and he has started marking in the house, sometimes pooping, so he is certainly not what I would call “house trained.”  His mom never catches him pooping, finding his little “prizes” long after he has left them, but she can sometimes catch him marking territory.  Butters can also be quite aggressive with outside people, and he has bitten a few people.

Photo Courtesy of Comedy Central

First things first, get those dogs neutered as soon as possible.  You are sitting on a powder keg of testosterone among the three pups, and I would not want to be around when it explodes!  You should also have Bae-Bae spayed soon after she is old enough.  I know that it can be expensive to get your dog fixed, but it is certainly worth not bringing any puppies into a world with so many puppies in need of homes.  You will also see a tremendous change in behavior in your boys.

Butters is the one that concerns me the most.  We need to establish the hierarchy in this pack.  Humans should be the ultimate alphas, and that certainly is not the case.  Being the ultimate alpha, you must never show any form of submission.  You should never allow any of the dogs see you cleaning up their waste, because that is a job reserved for the lowest members in the pack.  Following this rule, you will start down the right road with both Butters and Cartman on the .

The next thing to do is to follow Mom’s #1 training rule: YOU CANNOT TRAIN WHAT YOUR CANNOT CONTROL!  To do this, you will need to put a six foot non-retractable leash on each dog anytime they are outside of the crate.  If you find that you have a problem with leash-chewing, spray them with Bitter Apple, or something equally heinous in taste.  It is also imperative that they be put in a confined place, like their crates, if you cannot physically keep your eyes on each of them.  Roaming free in the house is a privilege that must be earned, and that privilege is lost when they soil the house, be it marking or otherwise.

Remember, you cannot correct a dog for misbehavior, unless you catch him in the act.  you cannot correct it.  What I mean is, if you find waste on the floor, you need to ask, “Where was I when the dog did this?”  If you have to ask yourself that question, YOU are at fault for not keeping an eye on your dog.  If you do catch your dog soiling, you must say a very stern “NO” and take the dog to his outside potty spot.  If your dog runs in the opposite direction, all you have to do is step on his leash.  BINGO! You are back in charge.  If you stick to the advice above,  there should not be any reason that you cannot stop this behavior.

Why does he run to the crate?  Butters’ mom stated that he knows he has done wrong, but he actually does not know that what he did was wrong.  What he DOES know is that marking territory, soiling in the house, or hiding his poop and waiting for you to find it is a fun game to play. You follow him to his crate, and you pay attention to him.  Dogs do not care what kind of attention we get.  Even negative attention, like screaming at him, is okay.  To us, negative attention is almost as good as positive attention.  What is it that Butters gets for all his hard work?  ATTENTION.

Your pack order should go like this: YOU, Butters (alpha dog), and Blue will be the omega.  Bae-Bae and Cartman will work out the “second in command” position.  In fact, they may make it so that one holds it one day and the other the next.  The only position you need to worry about is the alpha position.  As the alpha, Butters should be greeted first, fed first, and “treated” first.  By treating Butters special, you are sending a sending a message to the others that HE is the alpha dog, but you need to reinforce the fact that he is NOT above you.  You still need to go through the door in front of Butters, eat in front of him (without sharing), and ignore him when he demands attention.  Remember, YOU are the ultimate alpha, and everything is up to YOU!

As for Cartman, he thinks that it is his job to “get busy” in the crate.  Since he has done it before, you have probably cleaned his crate in front of him, and you probably talked to him while you cleaned.  What did that teach Cartman?  If he soils the crate, he gets attention from you.  Cartman’s view of these actions are that you enjoyed them so much, it is his job to keep doing it.

The first thing that you should do with Cartman is to reduce the size of his crate.  He needs only enough room to stand up and turn around.  There should be no blankets or bedding of any sort in there with him.  When he stops soiling his crate, he has earned having a blanket.  Until then, you should clean his crate with Simple Solution, a cleaning solution that truly removes the odor of a dog’s mess.  It goes without saying that you should clean the crate outside of his presence.

I also suggest that you feed your dogs a “premium” dog food.  I know it costs more, but there are numerous benefits that outweigh that slight difference in cost.  For one, the dogs will need less of it to satisfy them, so they will not expel as much waste.

The neutering of your male dogs should be your top priority, as it will result in some serious behavioral changes nearly immediately.  Since it is obvious that neither Butters nor Cartman is fully potty trained, your first training focus should be correcting that.  Make sure that you bookmark my Potty Training page for any issues that pop up there.

As for Butters’ aggression issues, we can talk about that once you have addressed the neutering, marking, and indoor soiling issues.  Keep me up to date on the situation.

A few days ago, a friend on Twitter suggested that I weigh in on some issues of an all around “bad dog.”  The problems described to me include growling and bearing his teeth at the family’s 10 month old son and his 6 y old cousin.  He also has some potty training issues, as well as some chewing and scratching of household objects like furniture and door jambs.

I would like to address the issue of most concern to me, and that is the relationship between the dog and the children.  I like to remind humans that dogs and children are not always a good match, especially young children.  Young children have a knack for viewing everything as a playmate or a toy.  Some children simply play too rough, even hurting the dog.  Six years old is about the right age to begin teaching a child how to play with a dog properly.  If you need some direction about teaching your children about dog safety, check out this video.

My suggestion is to never, ever leave any child alone with a dog.  Just as young children do not know how to play with a dog, dogs do not know that they cannot nip and “chew” on children the same way they can with adults.  We play rough naturally, unless we are taught the right way to play.  Since children can also play rough, neither are too good at reading each others body language to know if their pending action will hurt the other.  Typically, children use quick, jerky motions that indicate to a dog that he needs to protect himself, which is a disaster waiting to happen.

Like dogs, children like to play chase, and when they catch their prey, they get very excited.  Often, this can result in the child falling on the dog or holding him against his will.  This is a situation that the dog does not understand this, and he may react negatively to it.  If the roles reverse, it is not just a game of chase for the dog.  Because of the smaller size, he can think that he is  hunting prey.  Dogs generally catch slower “prey” and if the “prey drive switch” is flipped on, he does not care if it is a rabbit or a small child!  As we all know, children are not prey, and due to their newfound mode of transportation, toddlers are especially vulnerable.  They are still learning to walk, and they have many accidents.  We are not aware of accidents, and we do not realize that a child does not mean to do us harm.  However, we will react and not always in a good way.

Your dog needs to learn proper socialization skills with humans, especially the smaller ones.  I suggest that you place a leash on your dog to control his actions.  Remember, YOU CANNOT TRAIN WHAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL. With the leash attached, you will be able to confine him to a timeout area if he growls and shoes teeth toward any human, regardless of size or age.  Dogs are among the most social creatures on the face of the earth, and we do not like to be banished away from everything.  You should use a stern “NO” as you pick up the leash, but nothing more.  You do not want to give him any more attention for a negative action.  After a few instances, he will associate growling and showing teeth with the banishment, learning that behavior is not a “good” one.  This is not something that will be learned immediately, so you will have to repeat this until he learns.  When you are training your pup, you cannot do something once and decide it did not work.  The bulk of training is repetition.

If your dog still poops on the floor, that means he is not fully potty trained.  That is no fault of the dog, because an untrained dog is caused by a bad owner.  My suggestion in correcting this problem is to consult my potty training guide, and if you run into trouble, there are several articles to support you here.

To tackle the chewing problem, you can do two things to correct the behavior.  First, as a preventative action, you should spray Bitter Apple or something equally poor tasting on the areas where he chews.  If you opt not to spray, you cannot correct him for it, unless you catch them in the act.  Now, keep your eye on him and if you catch him chewing, give him a firm “NO” and put him in the confined area we discussed above.

Keep me posted on your progress!

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

My 2 yr. old female spayed Jack Russell Terrier goes nuts when I am getting ready to turn the dishwasher on. I will be loading the dishes in and she’s sitting there vigilantly waiting (trying to lick the dishes). When I get out the cleanser tablet and take off the plastic and close the door she is barking and going totally bonkers and then I turn it on and she’s totally fine, back to normal. It’s like it’s become some kind of a job for her, I can’t figure it out. I totally ignore her while she’s doing this. My husband thinks we should put her leash on her and put her far away from the dishwasher during the process. She is the most entertaining sweetheart the rest of the time.

Photo by Pat Thomas of Photo Phetish

Jack Russells are very high-energy dogs, and usually to burn off the extra energy, they need a job!  The scientists here at Ask Spike Online and I are working on a way to make cars that operate off of the energy of a Jack Russell Terrier (JRT).  We are also hard at work trying to fuel cars on dog hair freed by FURminators.  Needless to say, neither of these projects have progressed far enough to help us decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

Of the many words that come to mind when describing a Jack, the one that sticks out in my mind is obsessive.  Some JRTs exhibit very odd behaviors, such as licking furniture or dishes, and act on them obsessively.  I think that anyone who has a JRT in their family just has a sense of humor.  While many dogs would be deterred by something that tastes awful, a JRT will simply make a career out of getting rid of the deterrent.

To correct this behavior in a Jack Russell, it will be necessary to give a very strong “NO,” immediately at the start of the behavior.  I also suggest that you physically remove her from the area.  When doing this, I advise that you use a leash to remove her, because some JRTs can be so involved in their little project that they do not realize who is moving them.  This can cause a bite to occur.  If you want to be proactive about it, you can prevent her entry in the kitchen by confining her in another room or by purchasing and using a baby gate when it is time to wash dishes.

Obsessive behavior is not exclusive to the Jack Russell Terriers.  In fact, an obession with the dishwasher is a common behavior among a lot of dogs.  My puppy grandfather (Autumn’s dad), Buster, used to gather his tennis balls and bring them to the dishwasher for a good cleaning whenever he found the dishwasher door open.

You may find that the time investment to correct this behavior is not worth the end result, especially since the behavior is rather benign.  Even if you remove her from the area, you will not stop her obsession, and she will move on to something else to obsess about, probably something that is far more destructive.  So, it is now your job to find something that is more interesting to your dog than loading the dishwasher!

Ignoring a behavior like this works for most dogs, but Jack Russells have an uncanny ability to solve a problem, and this one has decided that it is her “job” to help out with the dishes.  They think that if they are prevented from doing their “job,” then they will move on to something else.  Of course, they do not decide to move on to something else right away, obsessing about their “job” and that can lead to some serious stress and anxiety on their part, especially when they know the activity is still continuing.  Some JRTs will try to come up with a solution to a problem for days, weeks, or even months. They are a true terrier, and they are the most determined and stubborn in the terrier family, in my opinion.

I have a quick story to share that may help you as well.  Every year when we decorate for Christmas, my brother, Tax, goes ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!  As soon as the boxes of Christmas items come down from storage, he starts bouncing off the walls, running, barking, and pulling ornaments, tree parts, and tinsel out of the box to help Mom decorate.  After a couple years of trying to decorate with Tax, last year she decided that she could not have him underfoot while decorating, so she enlisted the help of my sisters with two legs.  They come over before the decorations come down and play with Tax and the only thing that is more interesting in the world that Christmas decorations, a little red dot.  Mom calls it is a “laser pointer.”  I call it the most entertaining day of the year.  Tax chases that dot around the floor, up the walls, on himself and any other surface it comes across.  This goes on until the batteries die, Mom finishes decorating, or my sisters get too tired to continue.  So, if you buy one of these “laser pointers” and have someone in your family with thumbs operate it while loading process, she may become so fascinated, that her obsession moves to that instead of the dishwasher.

Photo by Claire DeLand

As with many people, dogs can grow grumpy in his their age.  Today, we are examining the behavior of an abused rescue with a history of biting, Mojo.  Recently, things have taken a turn in a negative direction, as he tried to bite his mom and another person he knows really well.  His mom does not know what she should do.  The catalysts for his mom’s e-mail to me involve their morning routine.  Previously, she could say “go get in your house” and he would run to his crate.  Now, he hides under the bed, and upon retrieving him, he snaps at his family, even breaking the skin on one successful snap.

Generally, a nine year old dog would be considered a senior dog, but there is not a set standard for determining this.  Whether a dog qualifies for the senior discount at Shoney’s varies greatly among different breeds, as well his size.  There is a saying about getting old and becoming set in your ways.  There is plenty of truth to that statement.  Personally, I do not like change in my world.  In fact, most dogs do not like change, especially us older ones.  Also, older dogs do tend to voice their dissatisfaction more frequently than younger ones.  Without spending any time with him, I think that he may be trying to communicate some type of pain.

That means that a trip to the vet is in order.  Upon arriving, it is imperative that you explain every detail of the recent issue to your veterinarian.  Ensure that your pooch is checked closely for arthritis, ear infection, decreased hormone productivity, loss of hearing, as well as eyesight and dental problems.  Mojo’s mom mentioned a noticeable increase in water intake in her request for help.  Excessive water intake can be a sign of several conditions, including kidney disease, diabetes and Cushing’s Disease.

Diabetes is the result or a dog’s pancreas shutting down or significantly slowing production of insulin, a hormone that helps the body process sugar in the blood.  Sometimes, diabetes occurs when the pancreas produces insulin that the body is unable to use.  In dogs, females are more likely to have diabetes, and overweight dogs have a higher incidence.  Diabetes can affect any breed, it is is prevalent in Miniature Poodles, Schnauzers, Pugs and Samoyeds.  Symptoms of diabetes include, increased thirst and urination, cloudiness of the eye and weight loss, despite an increase in appetite.

Cushing’s Disease occurs when adrenal glands produce too much cortisol, and it is common among older dogs.  Symptoms of Cushing’s include weight gain, weakening of the legs, an increase in water consumption, thinner and darker skin, an increase in appetite, hair loss, urinating more frequently and the introduction of a “pot belly.”

Kidney Disease can have any number of causes.  Some symptoms of it are an increase in thirst, a need to urinate more frequently, a loss in appetite, ammonia breath and a lethargic demeanor.

Photo courtesy of Claire DeLand

You may have noticed that we are focusing on the lone physiological symptom, increased water intake.  I think it may be Mojo’s physical condition affecting his behavior.  The increased water consumption goes hand in hand with an increased need to relieve himself.  When he is confined to his crate, he is unwilling to soil it.  His recent behavior indicates that he is upset because he cannot relieve himself in his crate.  Having to “hold it” for an extended period of time is not good for anybody, especially older dogs.

I suggest confining him to a tiled area, like the kitchen or bathroom to see if his mood changes.  I suggest a tiled area for its ease of cleanup of any urine messes.  In my opinion, a few cleanups is worth it to making your dog may be more comfortable, if you cannot increase his trips to his potty spot.  Once you have a diagnosis from the vet, he may be able to prescribe some medication for your dog and his condition.  With medication, he may be willing to return to his crate when you leave for work.

I am interested to know what the vet says about him.

From 1953 to 1959, the Beagle was America’s most popular dog. Today, that position is held by the Labrador Retriever, but beagle families certainly have not diminished in their adoration of the beagle pup.  Through the years, there have been quite a few “celebrity Beagles,” like Underdog, though his fame is probably overshadowed by the most famous beagle, Snoopy.  A famous collection of beagles is a group of friendly working detector dogs that sniff luggage in search of contraband among travelers entering the United States, known as the Beagle Brigade.  These beagles are supervised in their task by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Like most smaller dogs, the beagle has a life expectancy in the double digits, living for up to fifteen years.  If you ask me, that is a long time to listen to that beagle bark!  They are well-known for their “baying”- just a fancy way to say barking for beagles.  You would be wise to pay attention to a barking beagle, because if you ignore the bark, it will likely turn into howling!

As with most short-haired breeds, beagles are easy to groom, and they shed their coats constantly.  After a good FURminator deshedding session, a bath, and a clipping of the toenails, it is imperative that you clean inside those floppy ears.  Floppy-eared dogs are more likely to accumulate dirt in their ears, possibly leading to infections, than dogs with cropped ears or ears that stand up.  Beagles make great watchdogs, because they are very observant and alert to their surroundings.  They are also among the best rabbit hunters in the world.

Typically, they are great with kids, and, like me, they do not care too much for fetching things.  They can be “wanderers,” with their noses glued to the ground as they explore.  Beagles are very smart, and they can be quite stubborn.  This makes teaching obedience to a beagle a large test of patience.  They tend only to do things that are of interest to them.  When it comes to food, I recommend that you be very careful around beagles as they can be food aggressive.

Beagles come in two heights. The smaller version does not exceed thirteen inches measured from the floor to the top of their shoulders.  Their larger counterpart stands at about fifteen inches.  Both sizes typically sport a tri-colored coat, but they can also be found with a red, lemon, or white coat.

Like all breeds, beagles are likely to face a few health concerns.  One of the most common is Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca or “dry eye.”  This is a chronic inflammation of the lacrinal gland in the eye which leads to a lower than normal amount of tears.  The are also susceptible to Beagle Pain Syndrome – a complex condition involving sterile meningitis and polyarteritis.  Polyarteritis is a disorder in which a large number of arteries become inflamed and  meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges.  It is often noted while still in puppyhood, typically from four to ten months of age and it does not discriminate between male or female.  Symptoms include a lack of appetite, shaking, neck pain and stiffness, lethargy, fever, a hunchback stance, not wanting to move or bark, muscle spasms in the front legs and neck.  This is treated with a steroid application.  Funny Puppy Syndrome, a condition where a puppy is much smaller than his litter mates and requires special attention, and Chinese Beagle Syndrome, a condition that is characterized by slanted eyes and a wide skull, are also common among the beagle breed.

On a personal note: I have a beagle for a sister.  Her name is Molly, and she tends to be very moody.  We sometimes refer to her as “Molly Mood” or “Miss Mood.”